Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2019

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department

Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development

Degree Program

Educational Leadership and Organizational Development, PhD

Committee Chair

Hums, Mary

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Greenwell, T. Christopher

Committee Member

Greenwell, T. Christopher

Committee Member

Brydon-Miller, Mary

Committee Member

Moorman, Anita

Author's Keywords

disability studies; campus recreation; universal design; critical disability theory; inclusion; diversity

Abstract

This study investigated the current practices of campus recreation professionals to create inclusive campus recreation programs, services, and facilities. The researcher identified twelve campus recreation programs known by their peers and the industry to be at the forefront of providing inclusion efforts to people with disabilities. Through in-depth discussions with campus recreation practitioners at the twelve identified institutions, the investigation elicited a variety of interesting results. Utilizing the frameworks of Critical Disability Theory and Universal Design, this investigation identified how campus recreation practitioners perceive the inclusiveness of their campus recreation departments and how the campus recreation practitioners developed their inclusive practices. After interviewing the twelve campus recreation practitioners, the researcher was able to analyze how they perceived the inclusiveness of their campus recreation departments in order to address research question one. The campus recreation practitioners discussed a variety of ways in which their campus recreation departments provided inclusive facilities, services, and programming. This discussion generated the themes of diversity and inclusion effort, disability inclusion, and gender inclusion in response to the perceived inclusiveness of their campus recreation department. In the campus recreation practitioners’ responses to research question two, the campus recreation discussed how they determined their inclusive practices and policies. The discussion led to the themes of policy source, assessments and surveys, and personnel involved. Through analyzing the campus recreation practitioners’ responses to the research questions, the researcher was able to identify relationships to Critical Disability Theory, Universal Design, and the literature discussed in this study.

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